I normally board the Princeton Weekend Shopper bus at least twice a month to go to Trader Joe’s. Some days, the Shopper is quiet and nearly empty. On other days, the Shopper bustles with the conversations of friends and families journeying south along Route 1. This is how 54 minutes passed on a comfortably silent Princeton Weekend Shopper on Sunday, Nov. 10.
Stop 1: Wawa
I grabbed the 1:08 p.m. bus, which surprisingly arrived a full two minutes early. I grabbed my usual seat: in the back, on the driver’s side. A young woman with headphones boarded a minute after me and sat opposite. The bus left precisely at 1:08 p.m.
A man and a woman whispered to each other in the front of the bus, while another man had AirPods in his ears. There was another young man who wore a running vest and also donned AirPods. The methodic click of the turning signal pierced the air as the bus left the parking lot and started its route.
People on the Shopper: 6
Stop 2: Lawrence Apartments
Lawrence was the first of three stops to graduate apartments. Usually, a handful of people board the bus at this sprawling complex of red brick and gray concrete buildings. This Sunday, though, no one got on the bus. The man in the running vest deboarded, but no one came to replace him. The pair at the front of the bus looked up for a moment before they resumed their quiet chatter.
People on the Shopper: 5
Stop 3: Lakeside Apartments
The second graduate student complex was smaller, but the wood-paneled, cabin-aesthetic buildings were more visually appealing. The design of the apartments proved to be the only source of entertainment, as very few people boarded the bus. Only one person got on the bus, while the AirPods-wearer got off.
People on the Shopper: 5
Stop 4: Meadows Apartments
The next location was the new graduate student apartment complex, the Meadows Apartments — a stop that was not on the route last year. The change to the route was a welcome one, as now the bus travels over the scenic Lake Carnegie to reach the apartments. The weekend before, I took the Shopper with some friends on Saturday, and the lake area was bursting with people as families, students, and community members gathered to watch a regatta. This past Sunday, the lake stretched beneath a gray sky, providing a calming sight. When the bus stopped, a man with an orange bag ran to catch it before departure.
People on the Shopper: 6
Stop 5: Whole Foods
The pair at the front of the bus who were quietly talking exited. One person boarded. With the departure of the couple, the bus became utterly, perfectly silent as passengers settled back into their own worlds.
People on the Shopper: 5
Stop 6: Wegmans
Three people got off the bus. Two of them shouted thanks to the driver as they departed. In their wake, six people boarded the bus, including an older woman with a stuffed shopping bag. All of the people who boarded seemed to be graduate students or older community members.
As the bus pulled away from the shopping complex, a man sitting next to me, potentially in his early 30s, pulled out his phone and began a call. Bits and pieces of his phone call were discernible despite the drone of the bus’s engine.
“You can also see what deals you get on Black Friday,” he said to the person on the other end.
The woman with the shopping bag was the only person on the bus who was not using her phone.
People on the Shopper: 8
Stop 7: Trader Joe’s
Trader Joe’s was the last shopping stop on the trip. No one got off, and no one boarded.
“A setting that charges your phone to 85 percent and then stops,” said the man on the phone.
People on the Shopper: 8
Stop 8: Meadows Apartments
A young man with a full backpack thanked the driver and got off.
People on the Shopper: 7
Stop 9: Lakeside Apartments
A woman, loaded down with two full reusable shopping bags and a backpack, got off. The man beside me was still on the phone.
“I didn’t see the invitation until three months later,” he said.
People on the Shopper: 6
Stop 10: Lawrence Apartments
The man on the phone stood up and said parting words to the person on the other end as he departed the bus. An older woman with a shopping bag boarded the bus. When she entered, we locked eyes, and I smiled briefly at her. After she smiled back at me, I broke eye contact. My eyes drifted back over to her a second later, and I noticed she was still smiling at me.
During the entire journey, she maintained a consistent, wide smile. At one point, she put her face in between the floor-to-ceiling metal bars next to her seat and made a funny face at me.
People on the Shopper: 6
Stop 11: Wawa
I did not pay attention to how many people left or boarded the bus, as I was too focused on the smiling woman. To my shock, the woman also moved to get off the bus despite having a shopping bag. My feet led me into Wawa and away from the woman. I spied her through the window of the convenience store, waiting at the bus stop. After less than a minute of standing in the store, I made my way back to my dorm.
Overall, my Weekend Shopper trip was quiet, peaceful, and dependable. Grand excitement is not necessary for a shopping trip along New Jersey’s Route 1. While not many people boarded the orange transport vehicle, it is still well-loved and well-used by undergraduate students, graduate students, and members of the Princeton community.
Meredith Sneed is a contributing writer for The Prospect from Savannah, Ga. She can be reached at ms1290[at]princeton.edu.
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